when i delete files on my pc, can someone get it back, and how do i prevent it from happening?

Question

thank you

Answer 1

Yes, they can. If you want to get files off of your PC for good, you need to use a program like File Shredder or Drive Washer (they're both available at Stompsoft.com). Stompsoft's program meets Department of Defense standards, which is why I use it.

Answer 2

It's all most impossible to get back a deleted file. And in order to delete your file completely just press Shift +Del button during the deleting process.

But remember if you install such software which can recover the previous deleted file then obviously anyone can get back those deleted file. What actually happen in this situation is that.. a file is not completely deleted instead of that the software keep those file in their own recycle bin.

One more thing that i wanted to let u know is that....if u r using Windows XP then there is a bit possibilities that a deleted file can be get back through 'Restore Point'. Bcoz in a fixed period of time Windows XP create a back up of ur system (including file & folder). But still chances is very less. And it also depends that what kind of file u r going to delete.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

When you write a file to your hard drive, two things happen.

1. The FAT (File Allocation Table) is updated to show the "address" of the cluster on your hard drive where the file is physically written.

2. The file is actually written to that cluster. If more than one cluster is used, more than one FAT entry is created. FAT entries are linked by pointers to show a continuous sequence of clusters used by a file.

When you delete a file, only one thing happens; the corresponding entry (or entries) in the FAT is cleared. The file itself is still on your hard drive.

There are "undelete" programs around, and provided you undelete the file immediately you'll probably get it back.

However, because the FAT shows those clusters as available, it is possible at any future time for the file system to overwrite the actual clusters used by your deleted file, which results in it being permanently lost.

This is also why there are "disk wiping" utilities for increased security. If you have sensitive information on your hard drive, and you need to send your PC back to the store for repairs, merely deleting those files (perhaps after backing them up) is little help. The actual information remains on the hard drive, and can be recovered with a relatively simple utility.

Answer 4

I purchased a program from McAfee called "Quick Clean". I am satisfied it will do the job. It will do government standard cleaning if you so desire, and this means it cleans over the area seven (7) times. After seven passes, there is nothing left to retrieve. I know a lot of people will argue the point, but this does not just delete the files, it wipes over them with gibberish and leaves it not retrievable. If you just delete something, it is still there until written over, but that two can be retrieved with some programs. This program don't work that way, and if it will do government standard cleaning, that means there is nothing left for anyone with any kind of program to retrieve! It is a pretty expensive program but well worth the money. By the way, am I the only one here that understood your question? Have Fun!

Answer 5

you bet, once deleted, files are just renamed to not be recognized. Free software can recover these files for you goto download.com and search for deleted file recovery. to make it so noone can ever see those files again youll need software like eraser. What this does is scrambles and overwrites the free data on your drive so it is unrecognizable. Defragmenting your hard drive alone will help a little bit. If you have files you want gone completely try Eraser
link below to download a trial version

Answer 6

Yes someone can get back your files if they are seriously dedicated. And contrary to most TV police shows, the police won't use their best forensics experts to see whether you downloaded a song from limewire...

To prevent people from getting a hold of your stuff...

1. Don't put it on the computer.

2. Wipe it according to DoD 5220.22-M with software such as Summit Computer's free Hard Disk Scrubber 2
http://www.summitcn.com/download.html

Answer 7

When you "delete" a file in Windows all it does is tell the file that it can be overwritten.. so it's still there until something writes data over that same area on the hard drive.

Answer 8

You MIGHT be able to get it back using Restoration...it's free. You can prevent files from being deleted by...not deleting them!

Answer 9

Use secure deletion softwares like Sure Delete.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22393,00.asp

Answer 10

yes they can. all data is stored on your hhard drive as magnetic data, you could wipe the hard drive with a massive electro magnetic as it distorts the original properties of the data but then again it's very hard to fully erase data.

try tuneup-utilities for tuneup shredder which shreds data files by writing them over and over again with random alpha-numeric strings. this technique is used by the us department of defense to corrupt data but is it un fixable...?